Christmas is fast approaching and hundreds of children around the country will be busy writing their letters to Father Christmas. Countless trips to department store Santa’s grottos will be undertaken and endless requests for favourite toys made.
But what do you do when your child asks you how Mr Claus can make it down every chimney around the world in one night or why they’ve seen five Santas on your afternoon shopping trip?
Just today my nephew told me he’d spoken to Father Christmas on the phone to ask him for a bicycle – I’m not sure what I’m going to tell him when he finally asks how Santa gets a mobile phone signal from his grotto in Greenland.
There will come a time when your child’s sense of logic outweighs his or her belief in the bearded toy bearer and while you don’t want to rob them of the magic of Christmas, you probably don’t want to lie to them either.
Do you have any suggestions for explaining Father Christmas to your children? Do you think they should be told the truth about Santa, and if so, at what age? Tell us here.
1 Comment
December 1, 2009 at 4:52 am
This is an easy one. Kids have this amazing quality of believing very strongly in what will make them happy. We, as adults, very rarely believe in anything as powerfully as kids do. The beauty of being a parent is that you have the power to control that. You can reflect your pure love, intelligence, and goodness on your kids. My suggestion would be to take them on a trip to Greenland to see “Santa” in his hometown only and only when YOU feel like they are ready for it and show them that “Santa” is nothing but “generosity” that presents itself in the form of an old, far, wise, white-bearded man, who only dedicates himself to making others happy. A selfless act that, if assumed whole-heartedly, will make them better people for the rest of their lives. It’s all about giving without expecting anything in return. The added bonus would be a trip that they will never forget about for the rest of their lives, and when they do the same thing for their own kids, they would feel complete. Plus, you would have a really cool family tradition.
OC
PS: Make sure they see the Will Ferrell movie “Elf” beforehand though. That’s essential.